SCRIPTURE:

for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. (Matthew 12:34)

The “heart” Jesus is referring to in this passage (see Matthew 12:34–37) is not the organ that pumps blood throughout the body. He is talking about the “spirit man.” The heart is a container, a bucket that holds things. Your heart or spirit man is the same way. It is the real you. It holds spiritual things and the spiritual things it holds are words. Whatever words are in there, in abundance, will come out of your mouth. These words may not come out when you’re sitting in church and everything is cool, the music is good, and everybody around you loves Jesus. It’s when you go out into the world, when things happen, and pressure comes against you, that’s when the real you will manifest in the form of speech. The triggermay be something a co-worker or your spouse says that prompts a negative response from you.

You might even have made a commitment that you will not say certain things anymore—regardless of the circumstance. Look at Peter. He thought he had it made. He told the Lord he would never forsake Him, but everything was cool when he said this. Once things in the world put pressure on him, Peter suddenly said he did not know Jesus. He spoke this out of the abundance or “treasure” of his heart.

The “treasure of the heart” refers to a deposit. So, a good man out of the good deposit of his heart can bring forth goodthings or evil things, depending upon what is in him. “Bring forth” means sometime in the future. Therefore, you must check your heart, because whatever is in it is going to be your future. If you want your future to stay the same, just keep saying what you have been saying. If you want your future to change, you need to say something different because what you sow is what you are going to reap.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, I examine my heart and repent for every negative word that has flowed out of my mouth. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I purpose to speak only that which agrees with Your Word and will produce good things in my life and circumstances. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s must-read book, Power of the Tongue. To order your copy now, click here. In Canada? Click here.

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SCRIPTURE:

…God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; (Romans 4:17)

When our church moved from Lake and Pulaski on the West Side of Chicago to Forest Park, Illinois, some of the members did not want to go, as they felt called to stay. So we came with about 15 members. After the move, I began looking at the members and looking at the rent that was due on the first of the month. I began to wonder how we were going to meet the church expenses. Then God told me a couple of things: 1) People are not my source, and 2) He could meet my needs by many or by few (see 1 Samuel 14:6). At this point, I had two choices—believe God or believe what I saw in the natural realm.

The Hebrews went through this when they came out of Egypt. They had been making bricks and building the world system. That system fed and clothed them, but they were still slaves. So God sent a deliverer. He sent Moses who led the people out, through the Red Sea and into the wilderness. When they got hungry or had a need, their mindset automatically converted back to Egypt and the way their needs were met when they were in bondage. So they were looking for a Dominick’s, a Safeway, or a Piggly Wiggly. They were looking for something that made sense to the natural mind. But God took them out of Egypt and brought them into a place where there was nothing. He did this on purpose to teach them His way.

God will lead you into a task bigger than what you can do in your own natural ability. At this point, you are going to have to start calling things that be not as though they were.

PRAYER:

Dear Father, I thank You that You are with me in this situation. I will not look at the circumstances, but I call forth those things (I need) that be not as though they were. I believe I receive the manifestation of Your good promises in my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s must-read book, Power of the Tongue. To order your copy now, click here. In Canada? Click here.

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SCRIPTURE:

but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. (1 Peter 1:25)

DEVOTIONAL:

Although the Holy Spirit was moving upon the face of the waters, nothing was happening. God  was God; the Holy Spirit was the Holy Spirit. Yet, nothing happened until God released the Word. For God to repair the earth, or start His restoration of this earth, He spoke to it. He used words to create the universe. Once God spoke to the earth, the Holy Spirit went to work. The Holy Spirit’s job is to manifest whatever the Word says. Nothing can stop this. As you can see, if something could stop the Word it would have done so at the beginning in Genesis 1. Nothing can stop God’s Word from manifesting, when spoken as God would speak it.

Here, God spoke and the darkness had to go. It had to disappear. Genesis 1:3 reads: “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” In Hebrew it’s translated, “Light be.” God actually spoke directly to the thing He wanted to manifest; He commanded it to come forth—and it obeyed Him. Did God spend any time talking about how dark it was? No. He did not deal with the darkness. He used His authority to deal only with light—the thing He wanted. Once it appeared, God continued to “say” and everything He said came to be. 

Finally, in Genesis 1:26, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” This means He was making man to operate as He does. It is normal for sons and daughters to take on the attributes of their parents. Talking like God should be viewed the same way. This perspective is critical to victorious living.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, thank you that Your Word brings forth what You spoke. I am made in Your image and will speak according to Your Word and I will see those things come to pass. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s must-read book, Power of the Tongue. To order your copy now, click here. In Canada? Click here.

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SCRIPTURE:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)

DEVOTIONAL:

When I was living on Chicago’s north side some years ago, one bitterly cold, winter day my car would not start. The windchill was about 60 degrees below zero. I was parked over on Inner Lake Shore Drive. When I got in my car andtried to start it, nothing happened. In fact, a lot of cars did not start. I noticed a tow truck driver cruising the street making all kinds of money starting cars. I said, “I’m not going to let him start my car.” So what did I do? I got out of my car and as I stepped back, I looked around to see if anybody was watching me. Then I spoke to the car saying, “Car, in the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, I command you to start.” Then I went inside and got a cup of hot chocolate togive God a chance to work. When I came back out and put my key in that ignition, the car started up just like it was a 70-degree day.

This is just one of many examples in my life of how the words I have spoken in faith manifested in the natural realm. The first time you do something like this it looks foolish. Now, if I had been out there on the side of the highway kicking and cussing a stalled car, most people would have found my behavior more “normal.” Many times when you step back from a crisis and speak God’s Word over it, people will start pointing at you and calling you crazy–evensome church folks.

But God says to me, “You have been created in My image and likeness. The things that I do, you shall do also.”Jesus understood the power of His words. He spoke to a fig tree and it obeyed Him. He spoke to a storm and it obeyed Him. He spoke to a man who had been dead four days and stinking, and he obeyed Him. So, when my car would not start, it was time for me to speak and I did. This was not a coincidence. The Word worked just like God said it would and it will work for whosoever believes.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, how awesome are Your ways! Thank you for creating me in Your image with the power to speak faith commands and see what I spoke manifest in my life just like Jesus did. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s must-read book, Power of the Tongue. To order your copy now, click here. In Canada? Click here.

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SCRIPTURE:

(Jesus) hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. (Revelation 1:6)

DEVOTIONAL:

We are not only kings but also priests to our God. Jesus Christ is our High Priest (Hebrews 2:17), and we are His priestly representatives on Earth.

What do priests do? Priests worship the Lord with all their hearts and lives, and they are mediators between the Lord and people who don’t know Him. A king stands before the people for God, but a priest stands before the Lord for the people and leads the people into His presence. These roles speak of our purpose: to have dominion and to make disciples of all nations.

People around the world are living in the shadow of terrorism, and we know that Jesus is their only hope to overcome all fear and defeat the enemy. Ever since 9/11, the United States has been consumed with security and safety issues, and the Church should be the beacon of light in this frightening darkness. People need our faith and confidence in the Lord to protect them. And they need to hear the Good News!

Now is the time to say, “Come on over to my house and hear about Jesus. You can have His peace and know He is protecting you. I know things are frightening out there, but in your heart you can have joy. You can have a sound mind that knows the truth.”

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, I worship You with all my heart and life—thank you for all You’ve done for me. You are my Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Protector, and Provider! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s must-read book, Transform Your Thinking, Transform Your Life. To order your copy now, click here. In Canada? Click here.

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SCRIPTURE:

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ… (2 Corinthians 2:14)

DEVOTIONAL:

When you are born again, your potential is no longer limited to yourself. Your potential is in God. Your potential goes beyond your natural abilities and gifts into His supernatural authority and power. However, until you were saved, you were programmed to believe you had natural limitations and boundaries. You believed you could do only what you could naturally think and do. When God puts it in your heart to do something impossible, if you still believe you are limited to your natural abilities and gifts, you will back up and not move.

I have news for you. God never calls you to do something you are entirely incapable of doing, but He will enable you to do it supernaturally. There was never a better example of this than when the children of Israel went to the Promised Land for the first time. Moses sent twelve spies in to see just what they were getting into…

Of the twelve spies, only Joshua and Caleb came back and said, “Let’s go right now and possess what God has already given us. We can do it because He said we could do it.” This is the kind of leadership God always looks for. The world will say, “Ah, you win some and you lose some.” But God says, “I always cause you to triumph in Christ Jesus!” (See 2 Corinthians 2:14.) Our victory is already won because Jesus already won it.

PRAYER:

Dear God, I am so grateful that I am not subject to the world’s limitations and boundaries, but that I can do the impossible You call me to do through Your supernatural power. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s must-read book, Transform Your Thinking, Transform Your Life. To order your copy now, click here. In Canada? Click here.

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SCRIPTURE:

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

DEVOTIONAL:

It’s a sad thing when people live their whole lives and never understanding what it means to be a human being. They spend all their years trying to find out who they are and why they were created, but they never go to their Creator. If they did a little reading in the Bible, they would see that God created us in three parts: spirit, soul, and body: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). 

Our spirit, soul, and body are intimately connected and work together. Our spirit is the part of us that communicates with God. We were created to walk in communion with Him at all times. Under this spiritual headship is our soul, which is our mind, emotions, and will. Then our soul, in agreement with our spirit and God’s Spirit, tells our physical body what to feel, say and do. Although our physical body is our contact with the natural, physical world, it is not supposed to be in charge. Our spirits are to be in charge.

Our spirit life is superior to the physical, natural, and material life. The spirit is the highest form of living because our spirit man communicates with the Holy Spirit, who connects us back to God, our Source. The senses constitute a lower level of living so we must not allow our five senses to dominate. Therefore, we must renew our mind to the Word of God, or it will be carnal.

PRAYER:

Dear Father, I purpose to allow my spirit, not my senses, to dominate in my life, so that I am connected to You by Your Holy Spirit  I declare that my spirit is in charge of my soul and body. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s must-read book, Transform Your Thinking, Transform Your Life. To order your copy now, click here. In Canada? Click here.

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SCRIPTURE:

for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: (Proverbs 23:7)

DEVOTIONAL:

I heard it said once that we will always move in the direction of our most dominant thoughts. That is a profound truth! If we see ourselves working hard but never getting ahead, then we will probably continue to work hard and never get anywhere. We can be born again and filled with God’s Spirit, but if we are constantly thinking of ourselves in terms of poverty and unhappiness, that is what we are going to experience in life.

There is good reason the Holy Spirit used the apostle Paul to literally beg Christians to attend to their minds:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:1–2)

This says that when our minds are consumed with the Word of God, we will be transformed and move in the right direction. We will “prove” to the world around us what is the will of God, and His will is always truly good, fully acceptable, and perfect. The Bible makes it clear that God’s will is for us to succeed and live in joy unspeakable and full of glory!

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, thank you for Your Holy Spirit who always leads me in the right direction. I declare that my thoughts are aligned with Your Word and I am transformed and walking according to Your perfect will. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s must-read book, Transform Your Thinking, Transform Your Life. To order your copy now, click here. In Canada? Click here.

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SCRIPTURE:

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

DEVOTIONAL:

Thank God for spiritual gifts (as we read about last week), but there is something better. When I say something better, I mean that God intended for you to operate in what you have already.

If I’m mature, then instead of waiting on the gift of faith, I have faith because of my hearing, believing and receiving the Word of God. That Word changes my believing on the inside, and I’m ready to speak and act on what I believe. I don’t have to wait for the Holy Spirit to sovereignly place a spiritual gift on me. Instead, when I speak and act on what I believe, it will happen as I release my faith.

When you’re working your faith, you can work it now. When you’re waiting on the gifts, you have to wait until the Spirit wills. You can receive now from Jesus, whether it’s healing, family reconciliation, or finances.  

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, thank you for all of your spiritual gifts. I want the “something better”—to operate by faith in Your Word that is available anytime, anywhere I choose to believe and exercise my faith.  In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Dr. Bill Winston’s faith-inspiring book, Redeemed from Sickness. To order this must-read book, click here. In Canada? Click here.

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SCRIPTURE:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. (1 Corinthians 12:1)

DEVOTIONAL:

1 Corinthians 12 describes the spiritual gifts that are sovereignly distributed to God’s people (the Church) for the benefit of all. These include: “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues” (verses 8–10).

Let’s examine a couple of the gifts. Verse 9 says, “to another faith by the same Spirit.” God can give you an impartation of faith, so that you can receive or do certain things. Continuing in verse 9, it also says, “to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit.” Somebody could have a gift placed on them by the Holy Spirit that they can actually pray for people who, let’s say, have cancer and every one of them gets healed. Or they can pray for people who have arthritis and every one of them gets healed. Glory to God!

The Holy Spirit comes and divides these gifts among the people in the Body of Christ or the local church as He wills. You and I don’t know when He will manifest a spiritual gift or who He will manifest it through. The only thing we know is that these Holy Spirit gifts are given to the Body of Christ and could come on my life or your life.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, I praise You for giving the gifts of Your Spirit to the Church. I yield myself to the Holy Spirit to receive Your supernatural gifts—wherever, whenever, whichever You choose to impart for the manifestation of Your purpose. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Dr. Bill Winston’s faith-inspiring book, Redeemed from Sickness. To order this must-read book, click here. In Canada? Click here.

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